"God of Gamblers" Japanese DVD Cover
If you have not heard of the God of Gamblers franchise yet then it’s time you treat yourself to some classic Hong Kong action comedy-drama. God of Gamblers and its subsequent films, was the creation of scriptwriter and director Wong Jing and has an impressive, all-star cast featuring Chow Yun-fat and Andy Lau. It has spawned a series of films, official and unofficial.
The Beginning
Essentially the first God of Gamblers film is about betrayal, action and friendship. The plot follows Ko Chun, played by Chow Yun-fat, who is a famous gambler. He is renowned for winning games of chance, so much so that he is named the “God of Gamblers”. His identity is secret, but three of his characteristics are known to the public: his slick-backed hair, jade pinky ring and love of Feodora chocolates.
If we’re drawing parallels to a deck of cards – and this is a gambling franchise after all – Ko Chun is the refined King of spades, the King of Kings card. The King of Spades is a master of anything he puts his mind to and he does not merely dabble through life, like a Jack does. So, it is interesting when the film takes a turn for the worse for Ko Chun and he ends up in the care of a Jack of Diamonds, Little Knife.
Little Knife, played by Andy Lau, worships the God and is a mediocre gambler himself. Like the Jack of Diamonds, he is young at heart, social, playful and with a nimble mind. He is a wheeler and dealer, but lacks the ambition and drive of a king. He has set a trap for his neighbor as a joke, however, after a ruckus on a train between Ko Chun and a henchman sent by rivals, Ko falls into Little Knife’s trap, banging his head. He suffers severe brain damage, reverting to a childlike state with amnesia. Little Knife takes in Ko Chun and gives him the name “Chocolate”. Little Knife soon discovers that Ko Chun has a natural talent for gambling and starts to exploit his abilities.
While this is happening, Ko Chun’s girlfriend, Janet, is looking for him. Janet is our beautiful Queen of Hearts. This figure card, the “Mother of love”, represents someone who able to keep her emotions in check, while she’s still in touch with them: she has empathy, compassion and powerful communication skills. She is left with Ko Yee, the cousin and assistant, who is jealous of Ko Chun and makes a move on Janet. She refuses so Ko Yee tries to force himself on her. During the struggle Janet is pushed off a balcony and killed.
Photo courtesy of Daily Motion.
The necessary for any intriguing film evil, deceitful character Ko Yee is the Ace of Diamonds. Totally focused on fulfilling their own material needs, an Ace of Diamonds is determined and independent and often damages relationships as a result of their single-minded focus.
We don’t want to give away much more of the plot, as we really feel that this is the start of a series you should watch and enjoy. However, we will say that there are many more twist and turns where we see our characters play against each other.
Drawing even more parallels to a game of poker, only one of the dozens of casino games played during the films, none of our characters would make for a strong winning hand. If you look at traditional poker hand ranks you will see that the highest card we can win with is a straight flush, the best possible being a royal flush, whereas our cards of characters interestingly sit in competing suits. It’s not material for a good poker hand but they certainly make for good cinematic conflict.
Little Knife and Ko Yee are in the same suit, and they both have criminally minded tendencies. However, our Jack of Diamonds, Little Knife, plays with a King, and not his high ace card. Perhaps you could argue, just like in a game of poker, that he’s taking his bets on a good card, and a strong hand. We’re glad that he did, as the end of this film led onto a series of fantastic sequels that have catapulted an eager audience into Hong Kong cinema.
Beyond The First Film
For many, God of Gamblers is considered a transitional film enjoyed by both Asian and Western audiences. It’s generated interest in Hong Kong cinema, and catapulted Wong Jing’s career. Just like James Bond in casino royal, there’s a glamour that poker and casino games bring to the table, and audiences seem to love it.
Photo courtesy of mubi.com.
Once you’ve had your first bite of God of Gamblers you can move on to God of Gamblers II, which again features Little Knife, (Andy Lau), where he has become the Knight of Gamblers. This is not the true sequel to God of Gamblers, but trust us, it does make sense to watch the films in this order.
Following God of Gamblers II is God of Gamblers III. This film does not feature the God of Gamblers or Knight of Gamblers at all but now moves to the Saint of Gamblers, played by Chow. It’s a nice transition to watch these three films in order, since although they are not true sequels there is a story that they follow.
The true sequel to the original film is God of Gamblers Returns. Again, it’s directed by Wong Jing, and the actual God of Gamblers is back in the picture. Here Ko Chun’s followers, Little Knife and Sing, have become pretty good poker players themselves: the Knight of Gamblers and the Saint of Gamblers. See why it’s making sense to do follow our suggested order now!?
After this you have God of Gamblers 3: The Early Stage, which is a prequel, so if you want to make this a watchathon on five you could start or end with it. Following all five is From Vegas to Macau. It’s not an official sequel but brings together Wong Jing and Chow Yun-fat and sees many parallels to the God of Gamblers series. At the center of all of them, gambling, betrayal and deceit are running themes. They are all big on action and have larger than life characters, which is common in Asian cinema culture.
There’s a great progression through all of the films, especially if you watch the first four in order, in our opinion. They are great examples of Hong Kong comedy, action films – so brush up on your poker skills, get the popcorn in and enjoy some classic cinema.
